Saturday, October 3, 2015

Bananas
are one of most liked and most consumed fruits ~ a banana peel,
known as a banana skin in British English, is the outer covering of the banana
fruit. Banana, that delicious fruit is the common name for herbaceous plants of
the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. The area closer to
Triplicane – the congested Zambazaar, is a prime market place for
bananas. Have seen banana plantations alongside river Tamarabarani as also
around Kaveri in Trichy.

In
Tamil Nadu, eating in a banana leaf is fulfilling and traditionally food is
served on big banana leaf on ceremonial occasions. You could have heard of the
‘toungue twister’ ~ “வாழைப்பழ தோல் வழுக்கி வாலிபர் உயிர் ஊசல்” (‘Vazhaipazha thoal vazukki vaalibar uyir
oosal’) – in Tamil you have this ‘zha’ (ழ) uncommon to other languages and not
many pronounce this too well [you hear of them so often in TVs and Radios]. People may never get bored of eating a banana but could be
bored of ripping it open without messing it all over. Away in Dorset in UK, a mother who ate banana
at the wheel was treated like a criminal and fined £100. The 45-year-old was quoted as saying
'This is the most expensive banana I've had in my life' ~wonder why, read this
report from Mail Online.

A
single mother who was caught eating a banana at the wheel while stuck in
gridlocked traffic has moaned she was treated 'like a criminal' after being
fined £100. Elsa Harris, who works as a carer, was pulled over while driving to
work along a gridlocked road in Christchurch, Dorset. She was handed the fine
and given the choice of either three penalty points or completing a driver
awareness course after admitting taking her hands off the wheel momentarily to
peel the banana.

The
45-year-old, who insists her car was stationary in a traffic jam when she the
incident occurred, has now blasted the fine as 'ridiculous'. She said: 'I'm a
single mum. This is the most expensive banana I've ever had in my life.' Ms
Harris said she had already peeled the banana at home, but there was a small
piece of skin still needing removal before she could eat it. She said: 'An
unmarked blue car started flashing at me, drove in front, then slammed its
brakes on. It caused so much confusion with all the other cars, nobody knew
what was going on.

'When
the officer got out he was really angry from the offset, but I was still
completely unaware I'd done anything wrong.' Ms Harris said she's never been in
trouble with the police before and has no points on her licence. She said: 'The officer said I was driving
without my hands on the wheel and was a danger to other drivers, but I said
that was rubbish. 'I'm a carer and work at vulnerable people's homes serving
them lunch. We don't stop for lunch ourselves, we don't get lunch breaks.
Normally we have to eat on the hoof.

The
single mother was handed the £100 fine and given the choice of either three
penalty points or completing a driver awareness course after admitting taking
her hands off the wheel momentarily to peel the banana. 'He put me in the back of his car like a
criminal and told me what a danger I was. 'I couldn't believe it, you get
drink-drivers, people texting and eating while they speed along. Surely, me
eating a banana in a traffic jam is not that important.'

Eating
while driving is not a specific offence. However, anyone distracted behind the
wheel or failing to operate their vehicle correctly because they are eating
could be committing an offence of driving without due care and attention, or
not being in proper control of a vehicle. The Highway Code states drivers
should avoid distractions such as eating, drinking, loud music, trying to read
maps, smoking, and arguing with passengers or other road users.

Dorset
Polices said it was unable to comment on specific cases still within the
judicial process; but stated that Dorset Police is committed to reducing the
number of casualties on Dorset's roads. Earlier
this month, a woman was spotted by a cyclist tucking into a bowl of cereal
while behind the wheel of a red Land Rover Discovery as it made its way through
heavy traffic in the Hampton Court area of west London

'Our
traffic officers and No Excuse team use enforcement and education to tackle the
'fatal five' - drink and drug driving, excessive and inappropriate speed, not
wearing a seatbelt, careless driving and driver distraction. 'We educate people
at the roadside and through the driver awareness course to highlight the
potential consequences of their actions.' – says the Police.